Holiday Box 2025
They’re back BABY!
When I say this year was a blur, I really mean I blinked and it’s almost 2026. Most of the first 3 months I trudged through in a bleary-eyed nightmare daze of grief. Then, a five month straight onslaught at work, and the recovery of learning to be a human again. Blackpink somewhere in between, some health-related followup that I put off all year, and boom. 2025 is over.
I can’t believe it’s been a year since we lost Rosie. I think about her everyday. We fostered for a bit, and unsurprisingly foster-failed our first proper long term foster in April. Her name is Grace. She’s 10 and a very good girl. We have no doubt Rosie sent her to us, for a multitude of reasons. We are grateful to have her, especially this time of year so close to Rosie’s decline.
I haven’t done these boxes in a couple of years. Part of the reason I decided to this year was just to feel like I’m healing, I guess. And to stay busy maybe, have a semi long term project ruminating in my mind, take my mind off of something else more destructive it could fixate on aka Rosie’s last few months. Now that the project is over, I find myself fixating a bit more.
It did also feel good to play Santa a bit, visit friends and catch up a bit, reconnect a bit after the blur of a year, gift them the most heartfelt and personal thing I can think of. For many in Philly it’s their third year receiving a box, so maybe the novelty and shock has worn off but I hope they still appreciate having some treats.
This year I didn’t really have an idea going in, or a center piece to build around. I just wanted to do some boxes and keep it manageable and still fun, but still not too disjointed and random. One day, I saw a random Instagram photo from a restaurant of a gridded gift box, and it felt very striking to open the box to organized variety, and an array of goodies. Suddenly, I was very attached to the idea of recreating this feeling when opening the box, so I spent days trying to find the right boxes. Most had holes that were too small, or were only 2x2. A 3x3 grid with decent sized pockets basically did not exist, except for on this sketch website that sold a minimum of 200 per order. So the project almost didn’t happen, because it was this or nothing once I had the idea in my head. It took days, but eventually I did settle on this box.
No mouse drawn card art this year either, just a gridded key of what everything is, and space for a handwritten note. Can’t be the same every year, it has to be a little different to keep it fun.
Everything also cost a pretty penny this year, or maybe two pretty pennies compared to years past. Ingredients, equipment, shipping, everything is more expensive these days as we expected. But if I’m gonna do it, I might as well be satisfied with the result! So no expenses were spared. The damn okinawa brown sugar was $20/lb 😱
As for the menu, I still wanted it to keep it a) varied in type, flavor, and texture, and b) manageable logistically. As always, a lot of switching items in and out to find the right pieces of the puzzle.
Matcha & strawberry cookies: This looked fun to make, and I had hella matcha to use up, so it was an easy early lock on the grid. Plus, the checker pattern would look really cool in the box. It calls for a ton of matcha and strawberry, but I think there is a good balance of both flavors.
Peppermint Brownies: My favorite (and only go-to) Bravetart brownie recipe, but winter themed? I infused mint into the butter, used the tiniest 1/4 tsp mint extract for a 2x batch, and sprinkled candy cane pieces on top. Noah said the mint was not too powering.
Honeynut cranberry seed cookies: I saw these on Instagram too, and I needed a softer cookie in the mix, and something not chocolate-forward because I already had brownies. These seemed like they fit the bill, and looked good. I had to use seeds instead of nuts, and I feel like they don’t provide as good of a flavor. They were a little out there and a bit of a pain to make, so I probably wouldn’t keep this recipe in my collection, but I don’t regret including it in the box.
I never take enough pictures in this ordeal. These are literally all I have!
Hojicha poundcake with okinawa brown sugar: This was kind of inspired by something in the Bokksu box we got as a gift from my in-laws. I had to shell out for the true Okinawa brown sugar. It was EXPENSIVE! But I don’t think regular brown sugar is nearly the same flavor if you want the real deal. Sadly I used a random hojicha poundcake recipe online from Japan, subbed the okinawa brown sugar, and it turned out a little dry even with an added glaze. I like the flavor combo, so I will have to keep working at this one. A few people said this was their favorite though, so maybe it was actually a baking powder issue and the 2nd batch was better… we’ll never know.
Apple Cider Caramels: With this many cookies, I needed non-cookie items. I love this SK recipe, I have a post about it too, and it was a no brainer when it comes to candies. Perfect cold weather candy, and keeps well. Done deal.
Candied coconut peanuts: More shelf-stable confectioneries. I love these peanuts, and the recipient list did not contain any peanut allergies this year, so I went for it. I’ve made this before, but making 3x batches twice is not nearly as easy at home, but it’s basically the drageed nuts technique I used to do every day in the pastry kitchen, so at least I got my arm work out again.
Mee Krob: At this point, I was now looking for a different texture, but keeps well, and also hits on new flavors the box didn’t have yet. I didn’t want to do a rice krispie even though it would have fit the bill, and almost went with a frosted flakes snack until I remembered this mee krob! I thought it might be a hard sell, but people had the best reactions to this! So savory sweet and addictive. It was not too hard to make, and frying at 450F wasn’t as scary as I built it up to be in my mind. But with large batches, the noodles kept flying everywhere, and that really tested my sanity.
Cheese cookie: Last addition to the menu. I wanted to do something more savory for balance, and Noah suggested a cheese shortbread. I had a specific image in mind and couldn’t find a good base recipe to use the cheese types I wanted. These had great flavor but the texture was not it sadly. A little bit tough. Would not make again, the only “flop” of the box.
Overall, the process was pretty manageable, I was able to split it over the course of a week:
Weekend before: make all cookie doughs across 2 days
Monday-Tuesday: peanuts & caramel, made and packed. these keep basically forever
Wednesday: Addresses, print and write card notes
Thursday: Mee krob - these keep for weeks too, so they can be made ahead
Friday: Assemble boxes (aka rest day lol)
Saturday: Make and pack brownies, poundcake, these keep less well but can sit out for at least a few days.
Sunday: Bake all cookies, pack everything individually, then put everything into boxes, ribbon + bow, and Santa around town, print +pack shipping boxes. This was the busiet day.
Monday: Ship and more Santa!
Another photo of the goods post-shipping
With a better view of the squash cookie
No day was too stressful, each day was a little step in the process, and I think through work I am finally learning more to not bite off more than I can chew (most of the time). It was fun to do this again. Next year… we’ll see!